"Distressed" new Washburn...

[EdHanrahan]

... but the "antiqued" tailpiece and tuners are sortta cool.

http://cgi.ebay.com/09-WASHBURN-M116...3D10%26ps%3D63

[allenhopkins]

Looks like the back of the neck was attacked by potato bugs...

[GDAE]

I've never seen one of these, but a friend has their 125th anniversary distressed parlor guitar, and it's the sweetest sounding guitar I have ever heard...I wonder if the mandolin is as sweet.

[kalenh]

... but the "antiqued" tailpiece and tuners are sortta cool.

http://cgi.ebay.com/09-WASHBURN-M116...3D10%26ps%3D63

The thing I don't like most about "distressed" anything is, that most of the time the wear that would normally occur isn't so uniform.

The "dents" in the neck all look like they came from the exact same tool. The scratches above and below the the strings on the body...look way to similar as well. Not to mention out of place.


I will agree though the tail piece does have a "cool" factor to it.

[Hans]

Now this is an example of REALLY bad distressing...

[jim simpson]

Yes, really bad! It looks like they were inspired by the folks who distress furniture by hitting with chains, grind rocks/pebbles into surface, etc.
It looks like they could have just made a nice vintage style finish without going with a poorly executed distressed look. I don't object to distressing if it's done well. The best distressing to me is the one that occurs over time by use.